What a coincidence that I would be vacationing in Mexico during the challenge week of Tacos! It was so wonderful to be able to go to the market here, where they have so many different chile peppers available, both fresh and dried. It’s sometimes very difficult to find a good selection at home in New York.

These are the three dried chiles that I chose.

Start out by preheating your oven to 275°. Take the dried chiles and place them in a sauce pan, over medium high heat, turning them occasionally, until they are toasted and you start to smell their aroma. Add 2 cups of beef broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook chiles until they become tender. About 10 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve for later use.

Now heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a dutch oven. Cook oxtails until they are well browned on both sides. Remove meat and set aside. (Side note: these are not oxtails, they didn’t have that in the market. I don’t know what cut this is because I cannot read or speak spanish. I chose the because they have a bone in, and were moderately priced)

Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of oil, and the onions & garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until onions start to become translucent and browned.

Add cumin, cloves and oregano, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Add chipotle chilis, vinegar, and remaining beef broth. Scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan, simmer until reduced by about half, then transfer entire contents to the pot to a blender. You can use an immersion blender too, as I did. Add soaked chilis and their liquid to the blender along with fish sauce. Start blender on low and slowly increase speed to high. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Place beef chuck in Dutch oven. Add oxtails, bay leaves, and pureed sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Place lid on pot and transfer to oven. Cook, turning beef occasionally for about 4 hours, or until meat shows no resistance to a skewer inserted.

Discard bay leaves and oxtails. Transfer chuck to a large plate. Continue cooking the sauce that remains in Dutch oven, on stovetop, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 5 minutes.

Shred beef with 2 forks or you fingers and return to pot, bring to a simmer and cook, gently stirring and folding until beef is hot, tender, and coated in sauce. Serve immediately.